Abstract/Description

leaflet on the larger grain borer has been produced by the Group for Assistance on Systems Relating to Grain After Harvest (GASGA) and the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) and published by CTA

Notes

The larger grain borer (Prostephanus truncatus) has been known for many years as a pest of farm-stored maize in Central America, but since the late 1970s it has spread widely in Africa. In 1981 it was identified as a new pest causing severe losses to farm-stored maize in the hot, dry Tabora region of Tanzania. It subsequently spread widely within Tanzania and into Southern Kenya, Burundi and recently Malawi. In West Africa, a serious outbreak of the pest was found in 1984 in Togo, and more recently it has been identified in Ghana, Benin, Guinea Conakry, Burkina Faso and Nigeria. It is believed that the larger grain borer has the potential to spread to all the major maize-producing regions in Africa.
The larger grain borer is also a major pest of dried cassava. Losses as high as 30% have been recorded in some cases. Additionally, adults bore into a wide range of foodstuffs and other materials, such as wood. In heavy infestations, wooden storage structures may become damaged and act as reservoirs of infestation from which the new harvest may be attacked. Neither is the larger grain borer restricted to stores: it occurs widely in the natural environment and is dispersed by flight.
A leaflet on the larger grain borer has been produced by the Group for Assistance on Systems Relating to Grain After Harvest (GASGA) and the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) and published by CTA. It covers recognition, distribution, life history, damage, control in storage, monitoring and sensible precautions - all succinctly covered in just a few pages. The aim of the leaflet is to create awareness and to provide guidance to extension workers and other professionals concerned with the identification and control of this pest. Experience in those countries already suffering from larger grain borer suggest that application of appropriate control and containment measures can keep food losses within acceptable bounds.